Power-driven lubricating apparatus



Oct. 21, 1952 Q'WHITE, JR 2,614,731

POWER-DRIVEN LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1JNVENTOR,

OC. 21, 1952 Q'WHITE, JR I 2,614,731

POWER-DRIVEN LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1947 2Sl-IEETS-SI-lEET 2 T 5 l I l J Patented Oct. 21, `1 952 UNITED STATESvPATENT` f OFFICE Y acusar? PoWEmDRIvEN LnBaIoATING APPARATUS yoweiiwhite,Jr.,sib1ey,1owa 'Appiianon April 25,1947, seriai'No. 743,852

4This invention relates" to improvements in -powerpdriven lubricatingapparatus, and hasparticular' relation to structures of `this typede-Vsigned for service inlubricatingyas by greasing, the bearings, etc. [ofmodern machinery, and more particularly machinery, utilized by farmers,such as lcorn pickers, combines, cotton pickers and the While thevinvention'is capable of` service in other machinery fields wherebearings lare uti'- lized,v it isdesigned more -particularly for use inconnectionwith farming 'apparatus of the type indicated.vv Farmingimplements of this general type generally include manybearings ofdifferent forms, and ysince,the implements are generally usedfat points`away from service station activities, it has generally been necessarythat`the required lubrication `be provided by hand operation,-since thecost of'equipping-and'maintaining anmodern service station at thefar'mwould not be-warranted by the amount-:of servicewhich theindividual farmer might require,` while the 2 Claims.- (Cl. Z22-*333) tobe operatively connected up tothe power source; vthe. pump structure,when" active, is Iadapted lto pump the lubricant Afrom the container`into "af iiexiblefjconnection of considerable length and which carriesmeans for controlling the movement 'of the lubricant therethrough, thusenabling the user tocarry the fr-ee end of the exible carrier tothevarious points where he desires to provide the lubrication, thenexibility o'f' the carrier permitting this to be done f withoutrequiring 'a' change in'zposition of th-e loss .of time which wouldrbepresent in' attemptc laborious, since there fm'ustbe' a constantmanipulation ofthe hand device in 'order' toprovide the pressures neededin introducingthe lubricant to thebearingj. i fr i --f The presentinventionihas been developed with a cviewtomeeting conditions-such asthese by`v providing a power ldriven ydeviceand assembly" which willprovide for. eiicient'` service in' the i-eld or other point,.,with theservice suchfas to provide the lubrication `in"anff.efcient mannerwithllittle" or no manualflabcr. required, and by: means jof which thelubrication canb'e `completed' n a reduced time period, and at the sametime*L be a's'tructure and assembly which can be marketed at areasonably low costof manufacture.

Specifically, the invention embodies a container for the lubricant, thisbeing mounted upon a support which is partially collapsible so as to"permit no only of ready transportation-"but to be located at a pointreadily accessibleto a power source which may be the poWer'sou-rce ofthey particular implement which is to -be lubricated;

the support carries a pumping structure'capable of being rendered activeand inactive in simple manner, with the pumping structure operated-by asuitable power translating mechanism adapted support-and making possiblelubricating action atvarious locations as required by the implementstructure;` the assembly also includes a means by which` the vuser canrender the pump structure active and inactive at will while located atsuch remote points, the user having 'a flexible connection with thepumping structure such as will enable fhim toA render the latter activeat will, means being provided for automatically rendering the pumpstructure inactive excepting when'the user is'fmaintaining the structureactive.y In this mannenthe user is able-to readilylubricate the variousbearings, etc. of the implement, regardless`-`of` theirspecific locationand without the necessity of 'shifting-his pumping assembly and yet havevcontrol of the operation of the structure at will; hence,l the user isable to center his attention directlyv upon fthe lpoint of lubricationvduring -such'lubrcatingactivity, thereby assuring more eiicientlubricating-action, as well as reduction' in time length ofthelubrication, since hisindividualcontrol ofthe activity of the pumpstructure enables'him to control the time length and character --of thelubricating .action directly from thel point where that-action is beingtak-en.

'i rI-othese fandother ends,` therefore,v the nature vention ishereinafter"disclosedQ-said invention Figure 1 is a side'A elevation of`an assembly ac- -co'rdingto' the pr-es'entinvention, the parts being'shown in the"p`c sition-in -f-which` the power source is Y active lbutthe device inactive Vfor 'dispensing the-lubricants' i- Figur-e2 a plan.viewy o f portions of the mechi ,'smf, nd thensame connected upto apow'eisuppfly source;

pointed out in Y Figure 7 is an enlarged view partly in sectionv andpartly in elevation, showing the nozzle zone4V of a dispensing tube, theView illustratingfthe parts in position for 4closing. the `dispensingchannel;

yFigure 8 is a view similar to Fig. 'l Vwiththe parts shown in positionwith the dispensing channel opened for the delivery of lubricant.

In the. drawings,l which disclose a preferred form of the invention, l5indicates a support upon which the various features of they inventionare mounted. The support. has somewhat of the characteristics of a.collapsible table ofV thev elongated type, being equipped with legs. i6which may be folded ina. desired direction` so as to economize space,various ways in which such structure may be provided beingwell known,the purpose being to permit economizing in spaceffor purposes oftransportation, but permitting of location ata desired point properlysupported.A and having the table top raised a desired distance from thesurface of thev groundA or other supporting surface. Y Y

Mounted upon the upper surface. of the sup.- port and preferably in. anend. zone thereof, isa vertically elongated tank. l1 of desireddimensions, the tank being vdesigned to` contain the lubricant which is;tol be used in the lubrication of the bearings and the like.V The tankI.'l is pref-l erably closed. atitstop. and provided4 with afillingopening I8. The tankis designed tor permit dis.-a pensing ofV thelubricant therefrom by the use of. a suitable pumping structure.designed -toz be power koperated; various forms` ofpumpsfrnay be.utilized for the purposeybuu, for the purpose of providing for. lowcostformations, the particular. form shown and now described, is.preferred,L this. particular form servingY to discharge. y thev lubricant from the lower end of the tank ,intovaghose section I9 of desiredlength and.which;llilfllfides;V for ready movementwof theusertoyreachthebearings, without requiring change in positiorrof thesupport and tank The particular formV of pump shown. isin. the form oflan operating armor handle 2l)l which. is.; pivotally'supported at.one.: endby a pair of, brackets 2|. carried by the top, of the tank,`the mounting being of any preferredtype., livotallyA connected tothehandle or arm 2iand atanintermediate point in. the.- length thereofisade-V pending plunger' 22, the lower ,end .of whicnisl adapted to`extend. into. a. vertically extending opening or chamber.u 234 formedinf a member.l 2,4

located internally and in the -lower zone of the tank, and preferablyadjacente s ide wall,V the lower end of the plunger, being designed tohave4 a working fit within opening or chamber- 2.3.. Member 24 isprovided with a lateral opening 25 which connectsthe interior of chamber23,.with the interior of. the. tank and4v permits. the lubricant to'passfromthe tankinto the chamber. 23

when the'lowerend of raised; to.

a point above opening 25. Member 24 also carries in its lower zone alateral opening 26 leading from the bottom of chamber 23 outwardly ofthe tank and is designed to provide communication between chamber 23 andthe dispensing structure which is presently described in detail, andwhich may be exemplied by the iiexible dispensing connection I9.

As will be understood; if the handle or arm -20 be rocked4 onlits pivot,it will serve to; raise or lower plunger'r22fthus causing the lower endzone of the plunger to traverse chamber 23. When `such lower end Zone isabove the opening 25, the

lubricant. can pass` from the tank into chamber 23 bel'oWthe lower endof the plunger. Hence, if the. arm 20: .then be rocked in the oppositedirection. with the chamber 23 lled with the lubricant, it will beapparent that as the lower end of the plunger moves downwardly below theposition of opening 25, it will then force the lubricant content.located. in chamber 23 'belowv opening 2.5outwardly through opening 26and thus into they dispensing channel. The specic volume ofv lubricantAthus discharged by the downward movementof the plunger is: comparativelysmall-being the amount within chamberA 23; but if the arm be oscillateda sufficient number of times, the amount of lubricant thus dispensedwill be, ample for the service.

The, handle orf arm 2.0 projects inthe direction of length of support.-l5 and laterally ofthe tank so as to place,l the free end of. the armoutside of the verticalv planes of the tank and. in overlying relationto other portionsY of thel sup,-v port which4 carry the. mechanism foroperating the arm to produce the reciprocation of the plunger 22. Y A.

The operatingvmechanism is in theform of, ashaft 30y extendingtransversely of. the supportand near oneend thereof, said shaft. having,one end zone equipped with an adapter or adjustable extension 3|,beyond: the side of the support', the adapter. having its freeA end soarranged. as tapermit. its ready connectionvwith the power source of.the implement: to be treated; inother words.VA the adapter 3|. is: ofV atype.` which, can be readilyl applied tothe take-ofiv that is usuallyMfoundaas. a. part of. such, implementsespeciallyv where, the; latter isadapted: to ,forml the power source fork the operation. of. othermechanisms., 1- i Shaft 30gcarries-a pulleyf-3-2Lbeyond,theoppo site.side of support 1.5, Vpulley 32 being operative--4 ly connected with alarger pulley 33 vlocated' .oni the support in. a` zone: belowthe-'projectingend of, the.y armv 20, thev two.y pulleys. being.connected; by a suitable driveV belt 34. Pulley 33 `is designed te;yoperate. a crankl arm. 35.. which". extends trans-i versely` of thesupport;v thecra-nk: of the armiv beingA rotated; in. a..circulargpathby.Y the' rotationt. of pulley 33.with,thi.=.` latten beingdriven throughA pulley 32; from'. the powery source.` of the imple The:arm; 2.0 is. formed with an. elongated slot'` 36 extending' inl. thedirection orlen'gi-,he of the"l arm and of. thegpropen length, theouterendof slot. .35. being formed withart :offsetr oraenlarged'rf portion36a.. Slot- 3-6: or its equivalentcan bezprcrf vided. in, any suitablemanner within. the. handlez or arm 20 and isidesigneditobe.operatively'cona nectedwiththecrank 3.5i by` a connecting: rod131l.- oneend of which-.is mounteduporr crank: with. the opposite` endl intheiormofja: wrist pin1 31d; which is designed to-extendlaterally through: 3t`rthefconnectionr between rods3f1.- andthe'h'andlel portion. carrying thes lot -SBnmayhei indicated; as.y

drawer ,in the animar i" f va Yslide forthe wrist, pin) the -wristpln31a is `sccuredwin position by the use of washersorvthe liief andinsuchv manner thatthe pin ,can move ,lengthwise of .the slot unlss itsmovement is restrained, as, presently described. A spring 38 seigtenlsvbetween 2- Ithe vtank,- I 1 and thel rod 31v :so thatythe wris t ,pinwill benormallygheld in an` innerggoneof `thelslot 36 and in. positionfor opposite direction in oppositiQngto the tension of spring 38, thewristpin'will 'move 'intofthe outer end zone ofthe slotl and intoenlargement .SCL, With the wristwpin within the enlargement, and v withtherod maintainedunder such drawn condition, rotationgwofJ the ,c1anlregular path, the 'Wrist pin remaining y.Wahn the., enlargement andouter end `rzone as long/as lthe drawn condition is maintained, thismover ment serving vto oscillate the arm uvandzprovide whicnfissecuredto rod 31 in the .vicinityof the connection of spring 38 withifsuch rod,l ine 39 being of. a; desired lengthpreferably substantially equal tothe length of thehose sectionisfith thefree end of the line `beingdesigneditobe carriedI aA draw'nv'by the operator, spring 38 isyactivetofreatravel lengthwise o f the slot throughf-xthp ftension ofthe spring38; if, however, therodzbe by the operator; unlessthe line is-acidinmove the wrist pin end of the rod in the direction of its innerposition, thus placing the wrist pin in vsuch position that the lowerend of the rod 31 can traverse the path described by the crank 35,-

the wrist pin 31a simply moving in the direction of length of the slot,the tension of the spring on rod'31 serving to rock the arm 20downwardly on'its pivot to bring the arm into contact with a stop xture40 carried by the tank and which limits the downward movement ofthevarm, the spring retaining the arm in such position during periodswhen the crank shaft is rotating in the absence of line drawingpressure, the wrist pin simply idling within the slot `or slide 36 asthe crank arm rotates. From this, it will be under-' stood that thepumping action is under complete control of the operator, through thefact that he is able to retain the wrist pin at the outer end of vtheslot'by simply drawing on `line V39 until the wrist pin end of rod 31reaches this end of the slot; hence, bycontinuing this pulling action,the wrist pin is maintained. in this position of the slot, so that thearm is then subject to the rotative action ofthe crank arm applied tothe outer end of arm 20 through the connecting rod 31 and wrist pin 31awith the latter located at the outer end of slot 36.' Obviously, theoperator simply releases the line when he desires to end thepumping'action, although thecrank arm may continue its rotation asbefore. .'In thisv way, the pumping operation is always under theycontrolr of the operator who maintains the pulling stress onl the lineas long as he wishes pumping action tov continue, release of the linerendering spring 38 active to automatically shift theparts so thattingcarriedby the tank and `which contains .the

opening-ZG-,t'the fitting-indicated at 42e-:being arranged= with fr aseat with ,which a ball;,.43,- supzported by a spring 44, cooperates,the ball-being v designed-tc serve asacheck valve withinopen- .ing 2 6,its purposeI being toprevent return` of lubricant from the hose duringperiods vwhen plunger 22 -is being` raised, fthe ball permitting passageiof the lubricant into the hose during downward movement of the plunger.

The'hose IS-likethelineS-s of a length such yas will enable theIoperator to carry theA f ree end to the various bearing structuresbeing lubricated; a convenient length ofi-the line and hose could beindicated asten feet. The free end o f th hosev isis provided with afitting 45 to which .any suitablenozzle may be applied, and, adjacenttosuch ntting, v.the hose is provided` with,a s ut ;f able controldevice capable of controlling the passage of lubricant from ,the body ofthe hose into the nozzle. ,The control vstructuremay beef any Preferred:folmf; a -Smpll arrangement blg indicatedon the drawingsinthe form of.alaterallyv extendingA opening withinY the hose-reaching to thepassagewayvforfthe lubricantrwith such opening, indicated at BS, being desigrnedk to receivea plunger 41 carried by a pivoted varm 48 `for.applying the lubricant, the operator draws upon the line 39 to shiftrod31 to its active position at the outer end of the slot Sii-retaining theline taut during the lubricating period-and at the same time pressesdownward upon the arm d8, thus opening the lubricant passage to thenozzle zone ofthe hose, arm 48 .being in convenient position to permitthis action by the operator and at the same time direct the nozzle. Whenthe bearing has beenlubricated, arm 4B is released and at the same timethe line 39 is released, permitting spring 38 to shift rod 31 to itsidling Zone within the slot 3E.

While the above description is directed to the use of the apparatus inconnection with in the 'field service, it is apparent' that theapparatus is applicable for use in other connections, as for instance,an equipment for use in garage service.

In such case, the apparatus would be permanently positioned, and thepower source would preferably of points in a small Zone, such as thelubricationl of machines, it being apparent that where the machine to betreated is so extensive as to be beyond the 'range of the line anddispensing section, the apparatus can be readily shifted to another zoneto yrepeat the lubrication required vwit-hin the range of line and hose.

In other words, the apparatus assembly is of a type such as will permitof lubrication action withinV a zone of' considerable extent without itcan be bodily transported from one point to another and` thus meet theconditions where the service is required in a zone of greater amplitudethan that Which is permitted bythe flexible' I-Iie and nexible hose.

The assembly is one which can be produced at a comparatively low cost;and is operative with various forms of lubricant. Due tothe fact that.the assembly is such as toy permit complete control from the end zoneof a flexible line and hose, makes the assemblyV one which is especiallyadapted for the purposes indicated, and an assembl'y such that its costwill be warranted' for in the eld" service.

While I have herein disclosed a preferred form of apparatus assembly,and explained the manner of its use and service, it will be apparentthat changes and/or modiiications therein may be found essential inmeeting the exigencies of service and/or the desires of a user, and Itherefore reserve the right to make any and all such changesand/'ormodications as may be` found desirable and/or essential, insofaras the same may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention asexpressed in the accompanying claims. when broadly construed.

1. I'n a portable power driven apparatus for dispensing lubricants, alubricant supply tank, a flexible carried conduit operatively connectedwith the tank, plunger means reciprocable with` inthe tank forforcingthe lubricant into the car'- rier conduit, and movement imparting'meansfor the plunger means, said movement imparting means comprising an armpivotally supported by the tank, a pivotal connection between said arm 8and the plunger means, a power sourceI a rotatable crank? shaft drivenby said power source. a rod operatively connected to said rotatablecrank shaft said pivotally mounted arm having a longitudinal slottherein, a member on said rod extending` through and movable in theslot,

means to lhold said member against the end of the slot remote from thepivotal connection between the arm and the plunger means wherebyrotation of said crank shaft reciprocates said plunger means, and springmeans `operatively connected with said tank and rod to urge said membertowards the opposite end of the slotwhen the holding means is inactiveto prevent reciprocation of the plunger means during rotation of thecrank shaft. l

2. An apparatus asclaiined in claim 1 wherein said means to hold themember against the end of' the slot includes an angular offset mergingwith said end of the slot, andra flexible element attached to said rodfor moving the rod against the action of the spring means to lodge themember in said angularv offset. A

OWEN WHITE; JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of' record in the lle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES l?A'IEIN'ISV Benner Nov. 25; 1947

